Small Three Gorges and Mini Three Gorges
The Wushan Small Three Gorges (or Lesser Three Gorges) are composed of the Longmen Gorge, Ba Wu Gorge and Dicui Gorge in the area of Wushan Mountain, which are located downstream of the Daling River. They are adjacent to the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River (Wu Gorge, Qutang Gorge and Xiling Gorge). On the tributary Ma Du River at the Dicui Gorge of the Daping River, there is a Mini Three Gorges, which consists of Changtan Gorge, Qin Wang Gorge and Sanzheng Gorge.
The Small Three Gorges - Mini Three Gorges Tourist Area is 65 kilometers long and features natural landscapes such as springs, streams, ponds, curtain-like waterfalls, cliffs, mountains, strange rocks, karst caves, and underground rivers. Lesser Three Gorges and Mini Three Gorges are two of the top shore excursions on the luxurious Yangtze River cruise.
Lesser Three Gorges Facts
Geological Landforms
The Small Three Gorges and Mini Three Gorges are located at the eastern edge of the Sichuan Basin, in the junction area where the Dabashan Mountains and the mountainous area of western Hubei Province meet. The geological structure is unique, with Triassic rock layers from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic eras spreading throughout the region, resulting in a variety of peculiar karst landscapes.
Daning River
Daning River is a tributary of Yangtze River at Three Gorges area. The river winds its way 33 kilometers (20 miles) through the beautiful Lesser Three Gorges. Birds singing and monkeys chattering can sometimes be seen from both banks. The water is strikingly clear in contrast to the muddy, turgid waters of the Yangtze.
Small Three Gorges
The first is Dragon Gate Gorge (Longmen Gorge). In this gorge, the river ranges from only ten to thirty meters wide while the cliffs on either bank soar to an average of 800 to 1000 meters. Mysterious plants and fungus of longevity (lingzhi) are said to grow high up on the cliff face.
Two rows of square holes extending the entire length of the gorges are all that remain of ancient plank walkway. The walkway allowed easier access to salt mines far up the river. The existence of the walk way was recorded in 246 BC and was finally destroyed by the Imperial Ming army during the 17th century after a peasants uprising.
In the Misty Gorge (Ba Wu Gorge), a 2,000-year-old "hanging" coffin can be seen suspended on a precipice high up on the cliff-face. The coffin is a relic left over from the Ba people who inhabited the gorges region 3,500 to 1,800 years ago. At one time hundreds of these coffins could be seen throughout the Three Gorges and the Daning River , suspended from seemingly inaccessible areas on the cliff-side.
The Emerald Green Gorge (Dicui Gorge), the farthest from Wushan, is covered with lush bamboo grooves and foliage. The return trip downstream to Wushan is usually made in less than half the time required for the upstream boat ride.
Each gorge is separated by lush terraced fields where a variety of crops grow during all four seasons of the year.
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Mini Three Gorges
The Sancheng Gorge begins at the entrance of the Madu River and is 5 kilometers long. Both banks are lined with sheer cliffs. When rowing against the current, the water is swift and can only be pushed forward one stroke at a time. Hence, it is also called "Long Support Gorge". Today, the original vegetation remains intact. Along the way, the scenery is lush and green, interspersed with strange stalactites. There are scenic spots such as Deer Head, Longevity Star Peak, Stone Pillar Bay, Acacia Spring, Dragon and Tiger Pool, Bajie Crossing the River, Mother Stone, and Moon Hill Fortress within the gorge.
Qin Wang Gorge, from the Upper Ferry to Shuanghe, is 4 kilometers long. The water flows gently and is crystal clear, making it the best area for rafting tours. On the east bank of Qin Wang Gorge, there is a large cave. According to legend, during the reign of Emperor Chongzhen in the Ming Dynasty, there was a bandit named Qin who occupied the cave and ruled as a tyrant, killing the people. The peasant uprising army led by Zhang Xianzhi captured him, so the cave was named "Arresting (Qin) King (Wang) Cave".
The Long Beach Gorge stretches from Shuanghe to Pinghe, with a total length of 5 kilometers. Within the gorge, there is a 2-kilometer-long sandy beach, about 10 meters wide, which is straight and flat like a mirror. Hence, it is called the Long Beach Gorge. There are a wide variety of fish species in the water, and along the shore, there are colorful pebbles and sometimes ancient fossil remains.
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Cultural Heritages at Small Three Gorges
Ship Coffins
The ship coffins are located on the cliffs of Ba Wu Gorge and Dicui Gorge in the Danyning River. They are over 100 meters above the river surface. The wooden ship, which is over 7 meters long, is called the "Small Three Gorges Ship Coffin". According to research, like the hanging coffins, "ship coffin burial" is also a unique custom of the Ba ethnic group.
Ancient Trail Remains
Located on the cliff on the west bank of Longmen Gorge, they are a series of neatly arranged small stone holes. Each small stone hole measures 15.2 centimeters square, with a depth of 0.67 meters and a spacing of 1.66 meters. During the dry season, the height from the river surface is 15 meters, and the total length is approximately 400 kilometers. It is the most intact and longest ancient trail remains in China. In ancient times, it was widely used for transportation, communication, and military purposes.
Luo Family Village
It is located on the eastern bank of Dicui Gorge, beneath the waterfall and the rain shower. At a height of 50 meters above the river surface, there is a stone wall, with broken ruins and a narrow path leading up and down. It is said that it was built by the Luo family as a place for their descendants to study, hennce the name. In the early 1980s, the road and the wall were restored, and there were also boats for tourists to dock. It only takes about ten minutes for tourists to walk to the village.
Dachang Ancient Town
It is 60 kilometers away from the county seat of Wushan by waterway. It was built in the Jin Dynasty with a history of over 1,700 years. The town has two main streets, the north-south street is over 150 meters long, and the east-west street is over 240 meters long.
It is the largest ancient architectural complex of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in the Three Gorges area of the Yangtze River. It has a complete ancient city wall with three well-preserved ancient city gates and 37 ancient residential buildings of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. In 2000, the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences conducted archaeological research on the ancient town and preliminarily concluded that Dachang Ancient Town might have been the capital of the Ba Kingdom. >> Keep reading Top 10 Ancient Towns of China | China’s 10 Best-preserved Ancient City Walls
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Animal and plant resources
At Small Three Gorges, there are China's first-class rare protected animals such as golden monkeys, takins, bantengs, and white-lipped deer. The second-class rare protected animals include mandarin ducks, giant salamanders, red-bellied pheasants, white-tailed crested pheasants, and green-tailed crested pheasants. The third-class protected animals include macaques, pangolins, otters, big and small civets, lynxes, sika deer, roe deer, red deer, mountain goats, white-crowned long-haired pheasants, and red-bellied peacocks. Fish species include 53 types such as Chinese sturgeon, Yangtze sturgeon, and red-bellied carp.
Rare plant species include ginkgo, red bean, camellia, eucommia, wild soybean, red clover, kumquat, mulberry, magnolia, camphor tree, Chongyang tree, etc.
How to Get to Small Three Gorges
Take a high-speed hydrofoil boat from Chongqing Chaotianmen Wharf for 8 hours to reach Wushan. Then transfer to a bus to the Longmen Ferry in Lesser Three Gorges. The entrance of the scenic area is 1.5 kilometers away from Wushan County.
